


Empty Nest (Sukka Family)

by Cell151



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, Sokka - Freeform, Sokka x Suki Family, Sukka, Sukka Kids, Sukka family, suki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28322232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cell151/pseuds/Cell151
Summary: Sokka and Suki are vacationing on Kyoshi Island with their three kids. The couple notices how time has passed and their kids are growing up fast.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Empty Nest (Sukka Family)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kyoshigirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyoshigirl/gifts).



> This fic was written for my friend KyoshiGirl and is based on her headcanon of the Sukka kids: Atka, Tikani and Sakari
> 
> Check out at her work here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyoshigirl/pseuds/kyoshigirl
> 
> And here: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6123467/buttsandguts
> 
> Writings specifically featuring the Sukka kids can be found here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10702415/1/The-Lifestyle-of-a-Fan-and-Sword
> 
> For Christmas we both wrote prompts for one another. She wrote a brilliant Korrasami piece for me which can be read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28290351
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

For Sokka the first few days of vacationing on Kyoshi Island were spent fixing up the house his wife and children had been vacationing in for years. The icebox needed to be restocked with fresh food, gutters cleaned out and a fair amount of dusting done. The home itself was located a good distance from the village, along the coastline with a view of the beach. The back of the house faced a hillside and a waterfall that spilled into a natural pool that at its center reach a depth of six feet.

The location of the house was quite secluded, accessible from the beach and a stone path. It served as the perfect for a summer getaway from the first time Suki showed Sokka the house on their first trip back to Kyoshi Island following the war to the presen, now with three children in tow: Atka, Tikani and Sakari.

Sokka walked outside onto the backyard patio that faced the waterfall. He found Suki sitting on one of the deck chairs. He walked over to her and showed off the two-dozen acorns in his arms.

“Found out what that rattling was last night. Seems the squirrels found a way to store these in the air vents.” As he got closer her noticed that Suki seemed to be preoccupied as she didn’t acknowledge his presence, a despondent look on her face as she stared at the waterfall. He quickly drops the bundle of acorns off to the side and sat in the deck chair next to her. “Suks? Everything alright?”

Suki looked up and gave him a small smile. She reached over and took his hand. “Everything’s fine. It’s just that…” She pauses for a moment. “You know the kids went into town.”

“Oh,” Sokka asked, unsure of where the topic of the conversation was heading.

Suki nodded. “I originally thought nothing of it. But as I was sitting hear doing some reading,” a paperback with a bookmark protruding from it sat on her lap, “I glanced over at the pool and I started to think about all the times the kids have played in it. I also thought about how for the longest time there was no way we’d let them be out here without one of us watching over them. We certainly wouldn’t let them head into town by themselves.”

Sokka nodded in agreement. “True although they have been quite independent for a while now. Especially Atka and Tikani.”

“And pretty soon Sakari will follow,” Suki leaned back in her chair as she thought about her youngest child, the only one of the three that had inherited her light skin and, to everyone’s surprise, the ability to waterbend. Suki squeezed Sokka’s hand. “Pretty soon they won’t need us anymore.”

“Ah,” said Sokka with a nod, understanding what his wife was getting at. “Empty nest.”

“It’s happening a lot quicker than I think you realize. Atka has been going steady with Ren for a little over a year now and Tikani has been taking more trips to the South Pole whenever he has a break from school. I think he’s going to stay there permanently after he graduates next spring.”

“What,” Sokka asked incredulously, “Really? You really think he’d take living in the Antarctic over Republic City?”

“He’s got a girl there.”

Sokka pondered this. “Okay, yes that is a very big motivating factor,” Suki rolled her eyes and chuckled softly, “but still I don’t see it. I mean there’s a reason why I never went back there fulltime.”

“You know how much he loves spending time with your father and learning about Water Tribe culture.”

“I appreciate that and I’ve always encourage it. But there’s a difference between spending a couple weeks out of the year, during the warmer periods I might, and living there all year round. Especially during the winters, which can be very harsh. I will talk him out of it.”

“No you will not,” Suki says firmly.

“He’ll break your heart if he does.”

“It’s important to him.”

“So is the woman who birthed him and raised him.”

“Sokka,” Suki leans over to him and kisses his cheek, “If that’s his decision then we have to respect it.”

“Even if we hate it?”

She nodded. “Especially if we hate it. And you know, he isn’t the only one.”

Sokka’s mouth dropped open. “Don’t tell me.” Suki nodded. “Attie?”

While Tikani took an interest in the culture of the Water Tribe, Atka followed in her mother’s footsteps, becoming a Kyoshi Warrior and excelling at it to the point of earning the rank of Captain and teaching at the dojo her mother founded in Republic City years ago. “There’s going to be a position at the dojo opening up here next year.” Sokka leaned back in his chair and covered his face. “Sokka it’s important to her.”

“But the dojo in Republic City is literally right there.”

“Sokka I know this is difficult,” Suki says softly, “It’s been on my mind for a while but I’ve tried to block it out. Gradually reality has been setting in more. You know this was eventually going to happen.”

“Yeah but I didn’t expect our kids to be scattered to be a whole continent away.”

Suki’s heart broke as she saw the gutted look on her husband’s face. She got out of her chair and gently sat on his lap. “Hey.” She cupped his cheeks and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “We’ll have each other and the verdict is still out when it comes to Sakari.”

Sokka’s expression softens. “The constant worrying is going to eat away at me you know.”

A grin formed on Suki’s face. “I think we can keep ourselves occupied,” she says softly against his lips.

This brought a rather wolfish smile to his lips. “Well, that is true. I have sooo many ideas.”

“Oh stop,” she chuckles.

Sokka looked up at her and took a moment to admire her. Even with the passage of time, Suki looked just as beautiful as the day he first met her. Granted he was tied up and she was about to feed him, his sister and the Avatar to a large sea creature but still he couldn’t deny she looked good. She had let her hair grow a little longer, just past her shoulders. The color of her hair hadn’t dulled yet. The auburn strands of her hair still shone brightly in the light of the sun.

He looked around at their surroundings: the patio, the waterfall and pool, the house and the beach beyond it. So many memories came attached with them. One of the first ever photographs he took when he was able to acquire a camera was of Suki in the pool with an infant Atka, their fist, in her arms. Suki and him sitting on the deck watching Atka show Tikani how to build sandcastles. The look of wonder on Sakari’s face as dozens of fireflies filled the air on warm summer nights.

“I hope this isn’t the last time we’ll all be together here,” Sokka says with a frown.

Suki gives him another kiss. “It won’t be. I promise.”

“And I know how persuasive you can be,” he pressed a kiss to her neck eliciting a giggle from her.

“One of my many talents.”

“I hope we’re not interrupting anything.” The couple saw three figures emerging from the stone path, each carrying a ice cream cone in their hands. Leading the way was the tallest and oldest: Atka. She was the splitting image of her mother say for her dark Water Tribe skin. “If you guys need a moment—“

“Nope,” Sokka wrapped his arms around Suki and pulled her into a hug, “We were actually talking about you guys. About all the wonderful times we’ve had coming here.”

“I love coming here,” Sakari says cheerfully.

“It’s nice to get away from the city,” Tikani says, sitting on one of the large stones that bordered the pool, “Although the guy who runs the island gift shop is a bit of weirdo.” One could’ve easily mistaken Tikani for a younger Sokka.

“He is quite…enthusiastic,” assess Atka. “A bit over-the-top if you ask me.”

“He says he knows you Mom,” Sakari says, trying to eat as much as her ice cream before it melted. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She had sunscreen on her cheeks to keep her fair skin from getting sunburned.

“Yes,” Suki sighed. She heard a snort from Sokka and she promptly poked his side. “Oh hush.” Although she _briefly_ dated the aforementioned overly enthusiastic islander, Sokka loved to tease her about it.

“He’s a big fan of your uncle Aang,” Sokka says laughing.

That evening Sokka prepared a meal on the grill and they sat outside as they ate. The usual sibling teasing went on, mostly between Atka and Tikani with Sakari being the little instigator. The kids traded the latest gossip from school and Sokka and Suki retold old tales of events long gone by.

Throughout the evening Sokka and Suki took it all in. They couldn’t stop the passage of time but they could take in every little moment. As the children cackled loudly over one of Bumi’s misadventures, the couple looked at each other and smiled.

As the hour grew late, the children turned in, excitedly discussing all that they were going to do the following day. After making sure the house was locked up and the kids were asleep, Sokka joined his wife in the bedroom.

Suki lay on the bed in the darkened room, moonlight providing enough illumination to show she had opted not to wear any sleepwear. Sokka followed suit and joined her on the bed. She wrapped her arms around him and for a long time they simply stared into each other’s eyes. They didn’t say anything. There wasn’t a need to. They had been together a long time that look or an expression was enough to convey what they were feeling.

As they gradually fell asleep to the distant sounds of the sea, the topic of their earlier conversation still lingered but the feeling of dread had largely disappeared, replaced with the comfort that no matter how uncertain the future was they would face it. Together.


End file.
